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A free and flexible business environment attracts international organisations to those markets that have big growth potential and high profit margins. To penetrate emerging markets is of great interest to any international organisation. The situation gets more intense if it is in the field of telecommunications. Telecommunications (telecoms) and information technology (IT) are generically known as the information and communication technologies (ICT) industries. ICT is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is also considered among the biggest markets in terms of customer base, growth and profitability. The competition is very high in such markets, so relatively unique, attractive and extraordinary business strategies are usually practiced by these companies. The situation may create an atmosphere of upheavals and uncertainties in such markets. Extraordinary or unethical business policies can not only affect the business of other organisations, but also has some after-effects on societies and the mindset of target nations and market ethics. Organisations are very much engaged with society and work in the social environment, therefore the socio-cultural components is of great importance when designing business strategies. Exploring the facts about emerging markets and by analysing the case of Chinese company Huawei in the Pakistani telecom market, this thesis gives investigates and assess the success factor of this Chinese company. This thesis highlights the upheaval factors of emerging markets, by analysing the role of cultural interests and the mindsets of target nations for organisations planning their strategies

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Disney princesses have been portrayed and how has it changed over time. I watched nine Disney films with a total of nine different princesses. I wanted to see if there are any stereotypical roles that fit in with female Disney princesses and also wanted to see when this change took place over how they were portrayed in the meantime. As a method, I have used qualitative content analysis. I chose different properties and categories that I was looking for in the movies. These categories and properties contain different stereotypical characters and chores that the princesses perform in their homes. This study has used the theories stereotypes and earlier research by Disney Princess. The conclusion was that there was a clear difference between the older and newer films. In the first films, the princesses only dreamed of finding their dream prince, but in newer films she had other goals and dreams than finding a man. The princesses in the first films were very stereotypical women and in newer films the princesses are braver and more independent.

Aim:To investigate the impact of national culture on the process of managing change and innovation in the sector of higher education and identify what kind of environmental factors could produce a moderating effect on the cultural impact.

Method: Inductive method and qualitative approach were used. With the purpose of collecting qualitative data, 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees of Faculty of Education and Business Studies in University of Gävle, Sweden.

Results & Conclusions:The study suggests that any innovation is a change, while change is always a process and, thus, should be managed as such. Authors draw attention from the process of management of innovation itself towards managing through manipulating by such an influencer as national culture. At the same time authors point out that not everything can be explained on the basis of culture providing a range of potential factors that can strongly moderate the impact of culture.

Suggestions for future research: Current research is limited by the choice of country, sector of economy, number of studied cases, etc. Investigation of cultural impact on change and innovation management in universities of other countries or the choice of another economic sector would open opportunities for further research.

Contribution of the thesis: During the study the authors verified a part of the suggested hypotheses demonstrating the strength of the impact that national culture produces on management of change and innovation. Moderating effect of different environmental factors such as employee’s age and position within organizational structure, governmental policies in the sphere of higher education, type of organizational structure and type of leadership, was demonstrated. Authors come up with implications of managing the process of change and innovation through manipulation of cultural impact.

Title: Technology and Consumers’ Experiences in Fashion Physical Stores: The Case of Sweden

Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration

Author: Meron Kebede Abebaw; Willard Kingstone Matukuta

Supervisor: Agneta Sundström, PhD

Examiner: Maria Fregidou-Malama, PhD

Date: May, 2018

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze whether in-store digital technology in fashion retailers are used to change the customers’ shopping experience and behavior.

Method: This study chooses qualitative research and used both primary and secondary data collection as method.

Results and conclusions: This study have reached to conclude that: with the current advances in technology, physical stores can use in-store technology to give customers a new experience; physical stores perceive that using in-store digital technology will change customers shopping experience. Also, marketing mix inputs and technology affect customers’ behavior.

Suggestions for future research: For future research, how smart fitting rooms may influence the customer experience in the physical store will be important to study. Researchers can also consider understanding customer responses to in-store technology. Finally, a customer’s perspective to both suggestions should improve the knowledge on whether digital solutions are preferred in in-store shopping or not.

Contributions of the thesis: This thesis contributes to the current state of theories on in-store technology by showing atmosphere has effect on customers’ experiences and behavior in addition to the marketing mix. On the managerial perspective, analyzing the installation of this technology will enable to identify its effect on customers’ experiences and behavior. In addition, on the societal perspective, the behavior of customers will help in motivating younger generation to utilize this in-store technology.

Aim: The purpose of the study is to investigate how consumers’ brand perception is influenced by influencer marketing with regard to influencers' number of followers and topical alignment.

Method: In this study, a quantitative method has been conducted to aggregate 173 responses in a web-based questionnaire survey. After screening based on our selection, 153 responses were processed in SPSS where descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and cluster analysis were conducted. The result was used to conduct a discussion to draw further conclusions.

Conclusion: The study shows that both topical influencers and influencers with many followers have a positive impact on consumer brand perception. Influencers with a large number of followers contribute to a more positive impact on consumer brand perception than topical influencers. For maximum results, marketers should use an influencer that has both a large number of followers and focuses on a topic.

Contribution: The study's contribution to the theory of marketing research area is an increased knowledge of the influence of different types of influencers on consumer brand perception. The study shows that the number of followers weighs heavier than the topic in terms of how positively affected a consumer's perception of the brand is.

Aim: This study aims to explore the knowledge hiding phenomenon among project teammembers in the consulting industry. This study investigated why, when, how and what type ofknowledge team members hide.Methodology: This research applied a qualitative research with inductive approach. Semistructuredinterviews with eleven participants from EY in Kazakhstan were conducted.Secondary data was obtained from existing scientific articles and books.Findings: Findings of the study provided that (i) variables affecting knowledge hiding atindividual level also influence at team level; (ii) the technological and organizational barriershad a minor influence on knowledge hiding at team level; (ii) tacit/explicit and key/commonknowledge are subject to hiding among team members; (iv) three additional variables arediscovered at team level, i.e. laziness, fear of being seen silly and self-study.

Theoretical contributions: This study contributes to the counterproductive knowledgebehaviour by exploring patterns of knowledge hiding among team members. Additionalknowledge sharing barriers of why and when team members hide knowledge were found. Teammembers hide knowledge when they feel ownership over knowledge and territoriality servesas a mediating tool. Nevertheless, collective knowledge psychological ownership weakensknowledge hiding, because team’s success is more important than individual’s goals.Managerial implications: Organizations are encouraged to nurture team environment, becauseteam members might feel that they are obliged to share their knowledge. Also, managementshould consider to lower territoriality perspectives (e.g. by team buildings, etc.).

Limitations and future research: Future research should increase the number of respondentsfrom different companies, industries and geographical areas. To validate the three newly foundknowledge hiding variables at team level, they can be tested at individual level. On top of thatfuture research can focus on the effects of interpersonal injustice on knowledge hiding on eachmember, motivational process on knowledge concealing/sharing and cross-cultural differencesof how knowledge concealing is interpreted can be researched.

The main aim is to test if Piotroskis F_SCORE applied on stocks with high book-to- market ratio outperforms the market portfolio and therefore determine the level of market efficiency. The secondary aim is to provide knowledge to business executives about the relevance of a book-to-market policy.

Method

This study is a quantitative research which assumes a positivistic research philosophy with a deductive approach. Several regression analyses have been used to confirm the statistical significance of the different estimated parameters. The empirical results give answers to two hypotheses based on the aim of this research. The empirical data have been collected from Thomson Reuter Datastream, compiled in Excel and analyzed with the statistical software Stata.

Result & Conclusions

The empirical results of this study show that the value portfolio has a higher return than the market index. The risk-adjusted return for the value portfolio is higher compared to the market portfolio. This indicates that the higher return of the value portfolio is not due to a higher risk. By the results of this study there is not possible to determine whether the market is fully efficient or not. It is only possible to exclude the strong and semi-strong form of market efficiency.

Suggestions for future research

For future studies, we suggest further research about the weak form of market efficiency. Using historical data to determine future return, as Contrarian model, is one suggestion to reach further evidence of market (in)efficiency. Since F_SCORE assumes a normal distribution and because of the poor performance of the low F_SCORE firms another suggestion is short-sell these stocks to see if the return ca be increased. This empirical field needs further research about which factors that causes the higher return for these stocks. The small firm effect, liquidity and behavioral finance are just a few anomalies that may have a relationship with excess return.

Contribution of the thesis

The investment strategy in this research shows a higher excess return compared to the market index as well as a higher risk-adjusted return over the given period. This is not only a contribution to investors but also in a theoretical field due to the efficient market hypothesis. F_SCORE have a normal distribution curve where the stocks with F_SCORE of 5 or higher generally have a higher mean return. Another contribution is the relevance of book to market ratio as a useful strategy for valuating companies. The practical contribution gives business executives better understanding about the relevance of a book-to-market policy when attracting investors.

This essay takes a look at two short stories from the novel Krik?Krak! written by the Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. The short stories “Caroline’s Wedding” and “New York Day Women” are about mother-daughter relationships where the mothers and daughters are either first or second generations immigrants from Haiti. This essay focuses on these relationships and how they are related to immigration. To address these issues of relationships and immigration, several critics and their opinions on the subject are presented as well as an examination of key events in the short stories.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of goodwill that can be explained by the capacity for innovation in Swedish listed companies.

Introduction: Goodwill is an intangible asset and occurs in connection with acquisitions. In recent years, the record received a great importance and it gives also an expression of the future economic benefits. Goodwill is difficult to define because the item may contain, for example, customer relationships, trademarks, good reputation, etc. In the current situation, innovation is an important factor for companies and has great significance for economic growth and innovation capacity of firms should have an impact on the goodwill value of the entry.

Method: A quantitative study has been made in this paper. Through the database Retriever data was collected from the largest listed companies. An elimination was made for those companies that had not provided data that was required for the study. Through the statistical program Minitab was two regression models were conducted and analyzed.

Conclusion: Our conclusion is that the two dimensions of innovation studied, patents and research and development, Large Cap both have a positive explainationary power on goodwill for Large Cap. For Mid Cap there no significant effect appears. For Small Cap patent has a weak impact on goodwill, while research and development showed no impact.

Five decades’ process of breaking more than four centuries of Church-State ties saw a major break-through at the stroke of the new millennium (the year 2000), with the implementation of legislative reforms aimed at giving the Church of Sweden a greater degree of liberty, while extending greater freedom to other religious communities in Sweden. Almost a decade after this historic legislation most stakeholders claim the impact of the reform has been significant. Indeed the decision to server Church-State ties for whatever purpose or reason, after such a long standing relation between the two, will by all means have implications for the Church that is separated, the State and the so called free churches and other religions in Sweden. Thus, this field study seeks to investigate the resultant impact of delimiting governmental power in the religious domain on the now autonomous church and the implications the separation has had for other “non-state churches” as well as the secularized state government in Sweden almost ten years after the reforms.

Aim: Describe a working climate a young professional can expect to face with a company in Northern Virginia, USA. Examine working conditions and the working environment through perspectives such as gender, culture, and leadership.

Method: Qualitative research where one case study has been performed for collecting empirical data. Inductive logic and a constructivist approach have been used as strategy for parsing data.

Result & Conclusions: There is a paradox between working hours and flexibility. Professionals work significantly more hours than stipulated in their job descriptions. The appropriate number of working hours is a gray zone issue and there is unspoken demand to stay and work late, especially at the higher levels within the organization. Finansa appears to be a flexible and understanding employer but only when missed hours are made up and added to with extra hours. The result is a false sense of employment security. There are no written contracts of employment and a manager and/or employer can fire you whenever they want to and without any reason. In addition, employees can leave the company without further notice. Finally, another important dimension to the work environment of the young professional is diversity. This is a demographic reality of professional life in Northern Virginia and it can present a significant challenge. It is extremely important for young professionals to understand that cultural differences influence the work environment; others may not think and act as you do and basic assumptions about conduct may differ greatly across cultures. The key for success in this diverse environment is to understand it exists in the workplace and to take action based on that knowledge. Tolerance of personal differences with co-workers is essential. Understanding how different ethnic groups deal with time, relations and environment could be the decisive key for success in the professional setting.

Suggestions for future research: To perform a deeper study about working hours. To investigate how many hours white-collar workers in the US work outside stipulated working hours and how many hours they spend on volunteer hours. The gray zone of working hours is a large uninvestigated reality.

Contribution of the thesis: Increase the understanding of challenges a young Swedish professional faces when working abroad and in particular with a company in Northern Virginia, USA.

Aim: Todays’ companies are facing an increased demand from society that they need to shift their priorities from just making money to being socially responsible. Due to the increased demand, the importance of the concept Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has also increased in the last decades. A popular branch in prior CSR studies has been to investigate if CSR-investments affects the Corporate financial performance (CFP) which has shown conflicting results. However, previous research has identified an authentic gap between what companies are promising and what they implement in reality. Therefore the aim with this study is to investigate how authentic investments in CSR, with regard to how a CSR committee and consistent CSR, influence corporate financial performance (CFP).

Method: The study is based on the philosophy of positivism with a hypothetical deductive approach. Secondary data has been collected from Thomson Reuters Datastream with a quantitative approach. A longitudinal design has been used where data has been collected over a period of six years and the final sample has been processed and analyzed with regression analysis in IBM SPSS.

Result & Conclusions: This study shows that companies’ financial performance is higher in the presence of a CSR-committee, which indicates that a company by engaging in authentic CSR-activities gets a higher financial performance. Management preferences to communicate the company's social responsibility results in a better financial performance due to a better relationship with the stakeholders

Suggestions for future research: Suggestions for future research may investigate how the consistency of companies CSR is influenced by the new legislation over a longer period of time. Since the CSR-committee is influential for the financial performance we would also like to see further studies involving factors that might weaken or strengthen this relationship.

Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective this study contributes to the accounting literature by investigating the relationship between financial performance and authentic CSR motives. From a practical perspective this study can be of interest for companies that are planning to implement a CSR-committee since this is an influential factor for the financial performance.

Aim: Developing an strong brand is a way for companies to stand out of the crowd, which today is necessary to conquer on the competitive market. The brand value is one of the most important assets in annual reports, but there are difficult to estimate an reliable value. It depends on the fact that the brand value is affected by few different factors, including innovativ-eness. Due to the thesis background the purpose enunciate: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate it there is a correlation between companies brand value and innovation capacity.

Method: We have done a secondary data analysis, with help from the database Retriever. The combination of faint information and lack of quality in Retrievers capacity it contributed that we had to use semi-structured interviews as an complement to full follow the purpose. The paper per- form at Stockholm Nasdaq OMX and included de 250 largest companies that at least had one registered brand value. Companies with inapplicable data for the purpose of the study was elimi- nated. As a final the data was analysed by dint of linear regression, Pearsons correlation analysis, and interviews thru ”well-grounded theory”.

Result & Conclusion: The result of the study indicated that there are positive relation between brand value and R&D. The complemented interviews contributed that the authors observed diff- erences between practitioners and researchers on the perception of between essential accounting information and the opportunities to provide principles to circumvent the recommendations. The conclusion of the study is that companies brand value are positively affected by the innovativeness.

Suggestions for future research: Due to the lack of resources and qualitative database it wasn’t possible to satisfy the purpose of the study. Consequently our suggestion for future research will contain the recommendation to do the study on another stock exchange.

Contribute of the thesis: Mainly this study contributes to illuminate the fact of accounting information: companies doesn't inform sufficient information to increase knowledge for there own business innovativeness and immaterial assets. Which can be seen as a problem. Second contribute comprises that there is, hence small or implicit, relation between brand value and their companies innovativeness at the researched companies. Consequently the results gets difficult to draw general conclusion from.

This essay investigates the gender roles in Joyce Carol Oates' The Falls. The novel concentrates ona family who live by Niagara Falls in the US, but the novel's main focus is on a woman namedAriah. Ariah is considered as an outcast and different from her surrounding socialites and thereforeit is interesting to investigate how society and its norms affects her. This essay concentrates on themain character Ariah and how the society's norms affect her and contribute to her alienation. Theessay focus on the key norms in the novel and analyzes them with the help of Betty Friedan'stheories in The Feminine Mystique to investigate if there is any correlation between society's normsand the main character's alienation. The aim of this essay is to investigate the connections betweenthe main character's alienation and her refusal to succumb to society's expectations of her as awoman.

Title: Environmental and social responsibility in SMEs - A study of underlying motivation when implementing CSR in Swedish SMEs.

Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration

Author: Elin Ahlgren and Frida Ahlstedt

Supervisor: Tomas Källquist and Pär Villhelmson

Date: June - 2018

Aim: Previous research presents the majority of motives when implementing CSR. Motivations raise awareness of why companies implement CSR. Knowledge about the motivation for implementing CSR in SMEs is inadequate, as previous studies have primarily focused on large companies. The aim of the study is to increase understanding of the motives underlying the implementation of CSR in SMEs, focusing on the value-motive, the economy-motive and the stakeholder-motive.

Method: The study is based on a hermeneutical and social constructivist perspective with an abductive research effort. The study applies a qualitative survey method in which empirical data collection was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The theoretical frame of reference is based on previous research and the empirical material is grouped according to the themes and categories that arose during the interviews. Based on the abductive research effort, the theoretical reference frame and empirical data have been analyzed in interaction with each other to answer the purpose of the study.

Conclusions: The study suggests that the value-driven, the performance-drivenand the stakeholder-driven motive form the basis for implementing CSR in SMEs. The study also shows that the value-driven motive is the motive considered to be the most central and significant role in implementing CSR in SMEs.

Suggestions for future research: Further research should focus on the importance of the motives when implementing CSR in specific industries. Also, the stakeholders' perspective on the issue can be studied by looking at whether the motives for implementing CSR are perceived by stakeholders.

Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes with an understanding that the value-driven, the performance-drivenand the stakeholder-driven motive can be applied in a study on implementation of CSR in SMEs. From a practical perspective, this study contributes with advice about how companies and their leaders can increase knowledge about CSR and apply CSR-activities tailored to the company's conditions.

Title: Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, as part of the corporate brand – Affects CSR costumers´choice at the store?

Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration

Author: Emmelie Ahlin & Sandra Skog

Supervisor: Agneta Sundström

Date: 2013 – May

Aim: The aim is to describe and analyze how companies work with CSR as part of the brand and how it affects consumers when choosing store.

Method: The study applied quantitative methodology and supporting data collection is survey carried out. The data collected is processed and presented in the report by the use of pie charts and bar charts. We have also used qualitative method by carrying out two e-mail interviews with Coop and ICA. Secondary data was collected through the Internet and from corporate websites. To obtain theoretical support, we have used scientific articles and books. The results were analyzed by compiling and encoding the material that we collected.

esult & Conclusions: The results show that companies in the study present itself as very responsible on the website. The interviews show that both companies, represented by Coop and ICA, that they put a lot of work in CSR. They work closely with various organizations and the environmental label products as consumers through to purchase can contribute to a better environment and a better society. From analysis shows that firms operating in a similar way when it comes to CSR. The difference is that Coop is working more with communication in relation to customers than what ICA does. With regard to consumers, they believe that Coop is more responsible than ICA. One conclusion is that customers believe that CSR is important but when they get to the actual choices they choose based on other criteria.

Suggestions for future research: What we see as interesting to further research is how consumers prioritize and select retailers in other industries. Another proposal is to study how the companies in our study may influence consumers to make more responsible choices.

Contribution of the thesis: The study grant is that we have been able to show that the majority of consumers believe it is important that the store they shop in taking social and environmental responsibility for the products they sell. We have seen that even though they say that it is essential to social and environmental responsibility, it has low importance when choosing store. Consumers say it's important to social and environmental responsibility, but then when they choose themselves, it's proximity to the most important thing.

Questions about environment, human rights, social conditions and anti-corruption are a growing area of discussions in business. Because of this, it is not enough for companies to just think about the consequences of their own actions, or their direct suppliers, companies also have to take all the other companies in their supply chain into consideration. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe how companies report sustainable information from their suppliers. Further, the purpose is to examine which factors can explain the amount of information from suppliers and which information the companies choose to report. These factors are line of business, which have not been investigated before, and the previous investigated factor size.

The paper has a positivistic base and a quantitative method, and a deductive research approach has been applied. The paper’s empirical material are collected by annual reports and presented in charts and tables. The analysis has compared data to theories and previous research. The paper’s results indicate that most companies that include sustainability in their annual report also include their suppliers. There is a wide variation in the use of sustainability indicators for the companies who include their suppliers. Further, the results show that only one of the investigated factors can explain how the companies report sustainability information from their suppliers.

Suggestions for future research is to investigate why some companies does not report sustainability information regarding their suppliers. Further, it would be interesting to study this in a few years, to see if any practice has been established regarding the companies reporting of sustainability information from the suppliers.

Society awareness of environmental issues has recently increased, which also led to the increase in demand for sustainability reporting. This has in turn resulted in the number of sustainability report becoming more and more recent. Sustainability reports are therefore usually very long and complex as the stakeholder’s needs are wide and large. Since these reports have not previously been integrated with the financial information of the company, this is something that should be done and therefore results in so-called integrated reporting. IR is a way for companies to report their value creation in the short, medium and long term. The purpose of IR is to expand traditional approaches to managing the various capital and business model that affect value creation. Based on this, the purpose on the study has been developed, which is to analyse how companies report value creation by applying the framework The International <IR> Framework.The study has a positivist point of departure and a major qualitative research strategy but with some quantitative elements in which a deductible research effort has been applied. The empirical material of the study has been collected from integrated reports and presented by diagram. The analysis has been carried out by data against previous research. The study's results show that business models affect the company's presentation of the value creation and that the International <IR> Framework is applied more and more when companies report a lot of capital. This result shows that it is in line with previous research and that the content element business model is a useful tool for reporting value creation. Suggestions for further research is to investigate why many companies do not link their business model with value creation though this study shows that the business model is useful tool for reporting value creation. Further, it would also be interesting to conduct a similar study when The International <IR> Framework has established itself and then study whether there are any significant differences.

Title: A study of the positive market reaction to CEO changes in the Nordic region.

Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration

Authors: Malin Ahlqvist and Niklas Örn

Supervisor: Jan Svanberg

Date: 2019 - June

Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze how the Scandinavian market reacts to the announcement of a new CEO and to analyze how the factors gender, age and recruitment method can affect this reaction.

Method: The study has a positivistic research philosophy with a deductive basis. The study applies an Event study and is thus associated with a quantitative research method.

Result & Conclusions: The results of the study indicate a positive market reaction in Scandinavia at the announcement of a CEO change. The study also indicates a positive market reaction for both women and men. Furthermore, the study indicate that the market reaction is positive in Sweden and Finland as well as negative in Denmark and Norway. The market reaction for men under median age is positive while the reaction for men over median age is negative, the market reaction for women based on age is opposite to men. The study indicates that there is a positive reaction when the incoming CEO is internally recruited and a negative reaction when the incoming CEO is externally recruited. However, some parts of the results are not significant, therefore it cannot be ruled out that certain parts of the results are random.

Contribution of the thesis: This thesis contributes to fill the research gap that exists regarding the market reaction to CEO changes related to age, gender, recruitment method and a comparative Scandinavian perspective.

Suggestions for future research: This study shows on several occasions a significant market reaction the day before the actual announcement date of the CEO change, we believe a study to further study the reason behind this result would be of interest. Two more suggestions for further research are presented in the study.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether club card loyalty have an impact on customers store loyalty. A secondary purpose is to distinguish which attributes of a loyalty card that ICA’s customers prefer, with the focus on the variables; direct- versus indirect rewards, monetary- versus nonmonetary rewards, necessary- versus luxury rewards and immediate- versus delayed rewards.

Title: Influence of Social Media on Brand Awareness: A Study on Small Businesses

Authors: Eduardo Guerrero, Naveed Ahmad

Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-MalamaExaminer: Daniella Fjellström

Date: 2020 – January

Aim: The aim of this research study is to find the influence of social media marketing in smallbusinesses to create or increase brand awareness. Additionally, this study will analyze the rolethat social media platforms have in the relationship between customers and companies after theyare aware of the brand.

Methodology: A qualitative method is used in this research study based on the hermeneuticresearch tradition, in the form of semi-structured interviews from ten owners from smallbusinesses globally. We use an inductive approach in order to reach its intended goal. A thematicanalysis is included to find important themes within the interviews.

Result & Conclusions: Through interviews with the owners and partners of small businesses,and going over previously written literature on the matter, the authors of this study have come tothe conclusion that social media marketing highly influences small businesses in a positive wayin creating brand awareness. Additionally, there is a better understanding of how social mediahelps build a strong and good relationship between a business and customers.

Suggestions for Future Research: There is an interest for further studies by covering more smallbusiness. It will provide a higher contribution to the research if the customers were included inthe interviews or given surveys to complete. More authors should be interested in the continuanceof research for businesses that are small, either product or service organizations, and even therelationship they have not only between B2C but B2B as well, and lastly if a partnership affectsthe decision when it comes to investment for advertisement.